AllFreeNovel
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It was almost Thanksgiving.
Usually I didn’t mind. She was harmless and, honestly, we’d all been down those rabbit holes in a bookstore. It just wasn’t all that convenient when I had a needy newborn in the back room.
I locked the door to the store, slid the bolt across, and flipped the sign to say we were closed. If Seb had never held a baby before, there was sure as hell no way he knew what to do with one, so God only knew what was going on in there.
I grabbed my coffee and carried it through to the staff room with me. I opened my mouth to announce myself, but the view through the door made me stop.
Seb was standing in the middle of the room, cradling Tegan, and feeding her a bottle.
In case you didn’t hear that explosion, it was just my ovaries.
No big deal.
One day, I might look back at this very moment and recognize it was the straw that broke the camel’s back. The one that meant I was well and truly fucked. That, despite all my best efforts, there was no more running to be done here.
I did have feelings for Sebastian. I needed to figure out what they were, where they’d come from, and if they were merely feelings that needed closure or if they were ones that didn’t want anything of the sort.
Because watching him love on my niece, on a baby I loved more than anything, gripped hold of my heart and twisted it so tightly I felt it in every single beat.
“Lookin’ good, baller.”
He jerked his head up, a smile tugging at his lips as he rocked her. “Shh. You’ll disturb her.”
Oh, my heart.
My ovaries.
My womb.
All of it.
It was all… poof.
“Um,” I said softly. “Are you okay?”
“I don’t know,” he whispered. “I think she’s asleep, but Google said I had to burp her.”
I touched my fingertips to my lips and stepped into the room, depositing my cup on the coffee table. “You fed her?”
“Yeah, she wouldn’t settle, so I had to Google.” He pulled the bottle from her mouth slowly and handed it to me. “She’s not wet, she hasn’t shit, and I think she’s too young for teeth. Yeah?”
“Not even close,” I confirmed, fighting a smile.
“So I figured she was hungry. I found a bottle in the fridge, so I put it in hot water like it said and checked the temperature. It might have been a little cold, but I didn’t want to hurt her.”
“You could have just come and gotten me. Mrs. Holland would have come back.”
“No, it’s fine. We figured it out, right, Teegs?”
Tegan’s lips popped as if to confirm they had, indeed, figured it out.
“Do you want me to burp her?” Man, the butterflies in my stomach really had to get lost.
“Hey, no, you don’t get the credit for this. What do I do?”
“Are you sure?” I double-checked. “Think about this for a moment.”
“I’m sure. Now help me.”
“Okay, fine.” If she threw up on him, I was going to laugh so hard. “So you need this.” I took the burp cloth and used it to cover his shoulder. “Then you sort of put her upright, rest her head on your shoulder, and gently pat and rub her back until she burps. Or farts.”
“This is the strangest conversation I’ve ever had.” He did as I’d said, and I couldn’t help but smile as my sleeping niece rested her tiny head on his very broad shoulder. “Like this?”
“Just like that. It can take a few minutes but sometimes if you bounce lightly, it helps.”
“Right.” He bounced on the balls of his feet. “Like this?”
“Sway a bit. Yep, yep, that’s it.”
He looked a little uncertain, and he peered down at her on his shoulder. “She’s not going to throw up on me, is she?”
“Maybe,” I said honestly. “That’s what the cloth is for.”
“Yeah, I don’t think it’s thick enough to stop whatever might come out of her going on my sweater.”
“It’s not.” I sat down on the sofa and crossed one leg over the other.
“You look like you’re enjoying the idea of that a bit too much.” He eyed Tegan again.
“I offered.” I pulled my phone from my pocket and opened the camera. “Smile.”
“What are you—oh, no you don’t.” He turned away from me.
“Please! I’m sending it to Ivy!”
“Fine.” He moved over and sat next to me on the sofa, keeping Tegan in place. She still hadn’t burped, and I just knew I was going to have to take her from him to get it done soon.
“Smile,” I whispered.
He tried to glare at me, but I grinned so stupidly he had no choice but to let his smile break free.
I snapped the photo.
“Does my butt look big in it?”
“About as big as your ego,” I replied teasingly. I tapped out a quick message to Ivy and attached the picture.
